To Say Nothing of the Dog
or How We Found The Bishop’s Bird Stump At Last
by Connie Willis
“…a harmless, necessary cat”
“God is in the details.”
To Robert A. Heinlein
Who, in Have Space Suit, Will Travel, first introduced me to Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, To Say Nothing of the Dog
“It would have been nice to start fresh without those messy old ruins,” she said.
“They’re a symbol, dear,” said her friend.
CHAPTER ONE
A Search Party—Wartime Headgear—The Problem of Nepotism—Royal Headgear—The Bishop’s Bird Stump Is Missing—Jumble Sales—A Clue to Its Whereabouts—Astronomical Observations—Dogs—A Cat—Man’s Best Friend—An Abrupt DepartureThere were five of us — Carruthers and the new recruit and myself, and Mr. Spivens and the verger. It was late afternoon on November the fifteenth, and we were in what was left of Coventry Cathedral, looking for the bishop’s bird stump.
Or at any rate I was. The new recruit was gawking at the blown-out stained-glass windows, Mr. Spivens was over by the vestry steps digging up something, and Carruthers was trying to convince the verger we were from the Auxiliary Fire Service.
“This is our squadron leader, Lieutenant Ned Henry,” he said, pointing at me, “and I’m Commander Carruthers, the post fire officer.”
“Which post?” the verger said, his eyes narrowed.
“Thirty-six,” Carruthers said at random.
“What about him?” the verger said, pointing at the new recruit, who was now trying to figure out how his pocket torch worked and who didn’t look bright enough to be a member of the Home Guard, let alone AFS.